Destination Europe Testimonial :

« An American in Paris »

San Francisco, 6-7 December 2012

CHOICE : geographical mobility as a (belated, and successful !) career option

TRAJECTORY : New Jersey -> California -> Switzerland (-> Japan) -> France

OPPORTUNITY : coordination of a major European collaborative research initiative

MESSAGE : it’s not too late ; non-Europeans can (and do !) succeed ; support is available !

Michael MATLOSZ :Director of Emerging and Exploratory Research, French National Research Agency (ANR)Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of LorraineFormer Director, National School for Advanced Study of the Chemical Industries (ENSIC)Member of the National Academy of Technologies of France

The talk in FOUR POINTS :

Geographical mobility as a (belated) career option

(my personal career trajectory in three short slides : 1 / 3)

• A rather SLOW START : 22 years in New Jersey ! ( 1957 – 1979 )

• Elementary school, high school, basketball ( -> 1975 )• BS, Chemical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology ( 1975 – 1979 )

• A bold FIRST MOVE : Destination California ! ( 1979 – 1985 )

A NEW LIFE AWAY FROM HOME

• First airline flight ( 1979 )• PhD, Electrochemical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley ( 1979 – 1985 )• DISCOVERY : a new pastime : learning languages !! (French, then German)• A NEW IDEA : why not a POST-DOC in Europe ?

M. Matlosz, Destination Europe, San Francisco, 6-7 December 2012, p. 2

Geographical mobility as a (belated) career option

(my personal career trajectory in three short slides : 2 / 3)

• A decisive SECOND MOVE : Destination Switzerland ! ( 1985 – 1993 )

LIFE AS A TEMPORARY EX-PATRIOT

• First trans-Atlantic airline flight ( 1984 )• Post-Doc, Materials Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL),

Lausanne, Switzerland ( 1985 – 1987 )• Staff scientist (First Assistant) in Chemical Metallurgy, EPFL ( 1987 – 1993 ) • Pursuit of language discovery (Italian, then Japanese)• First trip to Japan ( 1989 )• Five-month sabbatical leave, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan ( 1990 )

• Another NEW IDEA : why not a PERMANENT position in Europe ? ( 1991 )

• A MAJOR PERSONAL EVENT : marriage to Anne-Marie, une Française ( 1992 )

M. Matlosz, Destination Europe, San Francisco, 6-7 December 2012, p. 3

Geographical mobility as a (belated) career option

(my personal career trajectory in three short slides : 3 / 3)

• A definitive THIRD MOVE : Destination France ! ( 1993 – TODAY )

LIFE AS A PERMANENT EX-PATRIOT

• First contacts and interviews in France ( 1991 )• First (unsuccessful !) applications for Professorships in Grenoble and Nancy ( 1992 )• Professorship (in Nancy, University of Lorraine) in Chemical Reaction Engineering ( 1993 )

at the National School for Advanced Study of the Chemical Industries (ENSIC) • Research in Microreaction Engineering Technology (see next slide) : European support !• Deputy Director of ENSIC-Nancy ( 1996 – 1999 )• University Vice-President for International Development ( 1999 – 2002 )• Director of ENSIC-Nancy ( 2006 – 2011 )• Director of Emerging and Exploratory Research, ANR, Paris ( since 2011 )

• THREE MAJOR FAMILY EVENTS : Sébastien ( 1994 ), Loïc ( 1997 ) and Julie ( 2000 ) !!

M. Matlosz, Destination Europe, San Francisco, 6-7 December 2012, p. 4

Destination Europe : the European Framework Programme

and how it boosted my research career

• DISCOVERY : research in Microreaction Engineering Technology ( 1994 – 2002 )• Exciting new possibilities for chemical engineering through application of microstructured

systems and devices in analysis and development• Involvement in Franco-German collaborative programs• Involvement in French national programs in microfluidics• IMRET 5 : 5th International Conference on Microreaction Technology (Strasbourg, 2001)

• OPPORTUNITY : FP 6, the 6th European Framework Programme ( 2002 – 2006 )

• The “IMPULSE” (*) Project : microstructured systems technology for PRODUCTION !• First (unsuccessful !) project proposal ( 2003 )• Second (successful !) project proposal ( 2004 )• Project objective : design methodology for integration of high-performance

microstructured process devices into large-scale chemical production systems• Four-year duration ( 2005 – 2009 ), 20 partners from 8 countries, consolidated total budget

of 17 M€ (of which 10,5 M€ from the European Union)• IMPULSE : Award Winner (2012), Best Project in Industrial Technologies in FP5, FP6, FP7 !

M. Matlosz, Destination Europe, San Francisco, 6-7 December 2012, p. 5

(*) IMPULSE = Integrated Multiscale Process Units with Locally Structured Elements

Destination Europe :

a few “take home” messages from my personal experience

• MESSAGE 1 : it’s not too late, international careers in Europe are possible !• Look at my case :

• 1st airline flight at age 21 !• 1st French language course at age 23 !• 1st trip to Europe at age 26 !• 1st European Framework Project at age 47 !

• MESSAGE 2 : non-Europeans can (and do !) succeed !• Both temporary and permanent positions in Europe are available, at all career stages• Cultural diversity is an ADVANTAGE, and foreign nationals can be MORE OPEN to opportunities• Europe (and France) are competitive and actively seeking to attract talent worldwide• Example : teaching / research faculty in France are recruited without restriction on nationality !

• MESSAGE 3 : support is available, both on national and European level• The European Framework programme (and future Horizon 2020) : collaborative research• The European Research Council : individual starting, consolidator and advanced grants• The French ANR : open calls, return of PostDocs programme, industrial chairs

M. Matlosz, Destination Europe, San Francisco, 6-7 December 2012, p. 6

YES YOU CAN !

Thank you for your attention !!

M. Matlosz, Destination Europe, San Francisco, 6-7 December 2012, p. 7

Destination Europe Testimonial :« An American in Paris »